L and P on the short-leashing of SFT - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Mar 18, 2005

RE: RE: L and P on the short-leashing of SFT

Date: Mar 18, 2005

At least Get Real isn't blaming the accreditation debacle on Tim Hudson.]

RC

Date: Mar 18, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"in 2001 brad bond was made assistant to the provost, and his primary responsibilities were the same as Joan Exline's are now. he was made assistant to the provost by Andy Griffin, who was interim provost then. this was during the Fleming administration. brad formed the first university planning and assessment committee about 3 years ago, joan exline was co-chair of that committee. so brad was involved with SACS (including going to SACS conventions) since 2001. don't know why he stepped down. "

It has been noted that Brad Bond advised SFT the university was not in compliance with SACS. If SFT's response was something along the lines of "so what, I'm having FUN" no wonder Brad decided to return to the classroom. He could see the writing on the wall.

As for Joan Exline, what's the real story? After serving as interim CoH dean, she was passed over for the permanent position, then announced she was going to return to nine-month faculty and work on some sort of private-sector healthcare initiative (I do recall reading this in the HA and thinking this was her face-saving "out"), then suddenly she is back in the saddle as SFT's right-hand person for articulation, planning and SACS clean-up.

Date: Mar 18, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Googler
" It has been noted that Brad Bond advised SFT the university was not in compliance with SACS. If SFT's response was something along the lines of "so what, I'm having FUN" no wonder Brad decided to return to the classroom. He could see the writing on the wall. As for Joan Exline, what's the real story? After serving as interim CoH dean, she was passed over for the permanent position, then announced she was going to return to nine-month faculty and work on some sort of private-sector healthcare initiative (I do recall reading this in the HA and thinking this was her face-saving "out"), then suddenly she is back in the saddle as SFT's right-hand person for articulation, planning and SACS clean-up."

The answer was given on another thread, but to answer your question, Exline was given a "consolation prize" as assistant to the president for articulation, planning and accreditation, because she was assured she was going to be the next dean. When that did not happen, she got her current position.

Date: Mar 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Get Real
"Leave Exline alone. She is trying to get us off probation so we have a place to work next year."

Exline may do what's necessary to pull USM through probation and beyond; no doubt she is learning much about accreditation "on the job." She is, however, friend of the neither the faculty nor the idea of a university grounded in shared governance. A former hospital administrator who fits badly within the academic environment, she advocates the "managed university," in which the faculty are merely one more group of employees to be integrated into the corporate order by authoritative leadership. She and Shelby are soul mates.

Date: Mar 19, 2005

RC:

You have no clue. You listen to what others say and make judgements about someone's qualifications?

I work on several SACS committees with Exline. She knows what she is doing and is balancing many efforts to be sure all gets done. She was a hospital executive prior to starting her second career and has much accreditation experience with CEPH, SACS, and JCAHO. She is a reviewer for SACS. She works well with the faculty and I watched her push hard to be sure that faculty kept responsibility for areas for which it should be responsibile when they were willing to let it go. I have heard her thank the faculty members involved in SACS many times for what they do in public settings. For several faculty who are on record as being anti-Thames, she was able to get course releases for their efforts and even got a secretary for Academic Council. She helped David Beckett and Bill Powell with an issue that was important to them recently. She is a friend of the faculty and still holds faculty status and teaches every semester.

As for Bond, it was his negligence and irresponsiblity that led to the probation. He reported to Hudson and they regularly said everything was in order for SACS. Bond's report of September 2004 prompted the probation decision. Exline took over full responsibility for SACS when Brad stepped down in October. She has had to re-do many of the things he started so that we are in compliance. The consultant reviewed some of his work and was appalled. Members of the University Assessment committee can confirm this. I am on that committee and his 2003-2004 assessment documents would have triggered probation, at no fault of the faculty who had no idea what they were doing wrong.

You should email Exline directly if you have questions about her qualifications instead of just talking about her and telling readers to keep the pressure on.

Get Real

Date: Mar 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Get Real
"RC:

As for Bond, it was his negligence and irresponsiblity that led to the probation. He reported to Hudson and they regularly said everything was in order for SACS. Bond's report of September 2004 prompted the probation decision.
Get Real"

Pinning this on Bond is simply a lie, despicable, scurrilous, beneath contempt, and smaking of an administration looking for a fall-guy. Dr. Bond labored mightily trying to convince the administration that SACS reaccreditation was an impending trainwreck. His return to regular faculty duties (with a significant forfeiture of administrative salary) came as a result of an administration that simply did not consider SACS an issue. Only when SACS probation became a reality did anyone in the dome take this seriously.

Date: Mar 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Setting the record straight
" Pinning this on Bond is simply a lie, despicable, scurrilous, beneath contempt, and smaking of an administration looking for a fall-guy. Dr. Bond labored mightily trying to convince the administration that SACS reaccreditation was an impending trainwreck. His return to regular faculty duties (with a significant forfeiture of administrative salary) came as a result of an administration that simply did not consider SACS an issue. Only when SACS probation became a reality did anyone in the dome take this seriously. "

I do have some questions for Get Real,

First what did Bond do or not do? How do we know this is not another attempt to label Hudson as the villian or Bond as the fall guy? Bond's was the first word via his memo on the pending accreditation problems back in 2002. His memo was ignored and then denied by SFT when the problem surfaced. What evidence do you have that Bond was the bad guy?

Date: Mar 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Get Real
"RC: You have no clue. You listen to what others say and make judgements about someone's qualifications? I work on several SACS committees with Exline. She knows what she is doing and is balancing many efforts to be sure all gets done. She was a hospital executive prior to starting her second career and has much accreditation experience with CEPH, SACS, and JCAHO. She is a reviewer for SACS. She works well with the faculty and I watched her push hard to be sure that faculty kept responsibility for areas for which it should be responsibile when they were willing to let it go. I have heard her thank the faculty members involved in SACS many times for what they do in public settings. For several faculty who are on record as being anti-Thames, she was able to get course releases for their efforts and even got a secretary for Academic Council. She helped David Beckett and Bill Powell with an issue that was important to them recently. She is a friend of the faculty and still holds faculty status and teaches every semester. As for Bond, it was his negligence and irresponsiblity that led to the probation. He reported to Hudson and they regularly said everything was in order for SACS. Bond's report of September 2004 prompted the probation decision. Exline took over full responsibility for SACS when Brad stepped down in October. She has had to re-do many of the things he started so that we are in compliance. The consultant reviewed some of his work and was appalled. Members of the University Assessment committee can confirm this. I am on that committee and his 2003-2004 assessment documents would have triggered probation, at no fault of the faculty who had no idea what they were doing wrong. You should email Exline directly if you have questions about her qualifications instead of just talking about her and telling readers to keep the pressure on. Get Real"

Get Real,

Wow, did I speak too soon about pinning the blame on Tim Hudson.

Here's what I think is wrong with your position.

Maybe Exline is doing a better job than some sources I trust say she is. Perhaps she is showing more good will toward the faculty than she used to, if only because she has the sense to realize that if does not treat faculty members of SACS-related committees reasonably well, she has no chance of success in dealing with probation, and with the start of the next accreditation cycle.

The fact remains that Exline was a seriously dirty player in the College of Health after Thames fired the 9 deans. (She contributed significantly to the decline and fall of the nursing program while doing her dirty playing.) The fact remains that she would not be in charge of accreditation (or authorized to hire her protegee as Director of Assessment) unless she enjoyed the sponsorship of Shelby Freland Thames. And Thames does not exactly have a track record of putting people in high administrative positions because they are competent, or because they are ethical. All that matters to him is implicit obedience to his every dictate. What's more, he has a well-documented record of not caring about accreditation.

Perhaps Thames misgauged her, and Exline is a sort-of good person in a very bad trade.

Even so, I'm inclined to discount your advocacy, because you refuse to address Shelby Thames' role in imperiling USM's accreditation. Instead, you are pinning the blame on the same people that Thames and Mader tried to pin the blame on for a few days last December. We've all head that before; it was bull$hit then and it's bull$hit now.

Now, if I heard from a reliable source that Joan Exline begged Shelby Thames to put a cork in Ken Malone's plans to start an Executive MBA program while USM was under probation--and to forget about preparing the Economic Development program to displace the College of Business and generally take over the world, at least for a couple of years--I would revise my estimate of her competence and her true commitment to resolving USM's accreditation problems.

Did Joan Exline advise Thames not to go forward with his Exec MBA and Economic Development schemes?

Or is your position that there was no need for her to do so, because Thames has always been committed to taking care of accreditation, and would never do anything to imperil USM with SACS, AACSB, and other accrediting bodies?

Robert Campbell

Date: Mar 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Get Real
"RC:
You have no clue. You listen to what others say and make judgements about someone's qualifications?
I work on several SACS committees with Exline. She knows what she is doing and is balancing many efforts to be sure all gets done. She was a hospital executive prior to starting her second career and has much accreditation experience with CEPH, SACS, and JCAHO. She is a reviewer for SACS. She works well with the faculty and I watched her push hard to be sure that faculty kept responsibility for areas for which it should be responsibile when they were willing to let it go. I have heard her thank the faculty members involved in SACS many times for what they do in public settings. For several faculty who are on record as being anti-Thames, she was able to get course releases for their efforts and even got a secretary for Academic Council. She helped David Beckett and Bill Powell with an issue that was important to them recently. She is a friend of the faculty and still holds faculty status and teaches every semester.
As for Bond, it was his negligence and irresponsiblity that led to the probation. He reported to Hudson and they regularly said everything was in order for SACS. Bond's report of September 2004 prompted the probation decision. Exline took over full responsibility for SACS when Brad stepped down in October. She has had to re-do many of the things he started so that we are in compliance. The consultant reviewed some of his work and was appalled. Members of the University Assessment committee can confirm this. I am on that committee and his 2003-2004 assessment documents would have triggered probation, at no fault of the faculty who had no idea what they were doing wrong.
You should email Exline directly if you have questions about her qualifications instead of just talking about her and telling readers to keep the pressure on.
Get Real"

Get Real,

You have some of your facts wrong. She got no secretary for Academic Council. Of course she has pushed hard for faculty to work on SACS, if faculty don't do this, she fails at her job. She flat-out lied to Faculty Senate about faculty involvement in that ridiculous notion of a "strategic plan." I assume Bill or David will respond to whatever issue you think she helped them with, but I think there is an exaggeration here!

Brad Bond warned the upper administrators, in particular Shelby Thames, about the problems with SACS, but obviously his warnings were ignored. Bond filed all the paperwork that he was supposed to do, and everything was "in order" except the president of the insitution did not pay attention to HIS part of the job.

What is it university presidents are supposed to do? The spend a lot of time fund-raising and spreading good-will. They are supposed to make accreditation a high priority.

What has SFT done? Attacked faculty, restructured the university, nearly killed nursing, is killing math and English, has hired the wrong people, wasted taxpayers money, and got us on probation. Now he is having fun.

Amy Young

Date: Mar 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Get Real
Bond's report of September 2004 prompted the probation decision. Exline took over full responsibility for SACS when Brad stepped down in October. She has had to re-do many of the things he started so that we are in compliance. The consultant reviewed some of his work and was appalled. Members of the University Assessment committee can confirm this.

From someone on the university assessment committee: What are you talking about? The UAC hasn't been told anything about the consultant being appalled at Brad's work. This just insn't true.

Date: Mar 19, 2005

My closest friend is on academic council and he said that you now have a secretary for your meetings after you and evans asked Exline for help.

Date: Mar 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Get Real
"My closest friend is on academic council and he said that you now have a secretary for your meetings after you and evans asked Exline for help."

Get Real,

1. Given that Amy Young is the chair of Academic Council, do you not think she would know if a secretary has been assigned to assist? Did Exline make an appointment/assignment for such a person and fail to inform Dr. Young?

2. I too have a close friend on Academic Council and they do not recall hearing about such an appointment. Do you not think they would have recalled such position being assigned?

3. When was this person assigned the duties of secretary?

Date: Mar 19, 2005

Check out AC minutes and non-voting members and you'll find your secretary.

Date: Mar 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Get Real
"My closest friend is on academic council and he said that you now have a secretary for your meetings after you and evans asked Exline for help."

Okay, I'm confused. Are you saying that Academic Council now has a secretary? But it has had two for as long as I've known--the Registrar is the recording secretary, and there's an elected corresponding secretary charged with distributing the monthly agenda plus sending out any other materials that might be required. I can tell you with certainty that this is the situation, as I've not only served twice as corresponding secretary of Academic Council but also was chair of the committee to revise the Constitution and Bylaws, which were approved with corrections on 3/8/04.

Seven hours ago you were complaining that RC listens "to what others say and makes judgments [no -e-] about someone's qualifications," which seems to imply that one can only speak to what one has personally observed firsthand, yet by your claim you yourself have just done the same. And if you're not talking about Academic Council, then you are relying on hearsay about some other situation.

Please explain your argument and your reasoning here.

Jameela

Date: Mar 19, 2005

PS, I am not recommending that one depend on hearsay. What Robert Campbell has been doing is carefully sifting the evidence, as any judge might.

JL

Date: Mar 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Behind the Scenes
"Check out AC minutes and non-voting members and you'll find your secretary."

I am on academic council --

The "secretary" is currently Donna Fielder, administative secretary in the registrar's office. She was not appointed by Jan. The registrar's office has always had a seat at academic council and has recorded minutes since before I came into the council there (now three years).

I/m not sure where Get real is getting his/her information, but on this matter you are only partly correct.

Date: Mar 19, 2005

" . . . . not appointed by Joan."

Sorry.

Date: Mar 19, 2005

I think Stephen and I were preparing to post at the same moment.

Although the Registrar is the actual recording secretary, it is true that the valiant Donna Fiedler has for many years worked up the minutes under the Registrar's direction. My hat's off to her.

Jameela

Date: Mar 19, 2005

Fiedler = Fielder. (I was thinking of the Boston Pops director.) JL

Date: Mar 19, 2005

It appears that I got bad info from my contact in the Provost office. Sorry.

Date: Mar 19, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: BTS
"It appears that I got bad info from my contact in the Provost office. Sorry."

No problem -- the board tries really hard to be self-correcting when new information or correct information comes in.

Date: Mar 20, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
...Maybe Exline is doing a better job than some sources I trust say she is. Perhaps she is showing more good will toward the faculty than she used to...

Right. And Albert Speer was no doubt a better man that Adolph Eichmann.

Date: Mar 20, 2005

drop-kick

Date: Mar 20, 2005

Wasn't Maureen Ryan brought over to the Dome early on--August or September 2002--as assistant provost to handle SACS? Isn't it true that she was marginalized in the job? Given no help whatsoever? If that is true, it becomes even more obvious that SFT and Co. had no interest in SACS. All they wanted to do was to get MR out of the Honors College.